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Band Competition

posted Oct 4, 2017, 6:00 AM by David Tapp

Band Continues on to Lincoln-Way

Dawson Andrews

When an average person thinks of marching band, he/she thinks of the halftime show at a football game, but a bando thinks of the football game as the opening act for the main event. But there is a lot more to these very talented individuals.

The members in the marching band have always had an impressive amount of discipline in them. They show up and work on their techniques starting in June. In other words, the band has been working for a long time to produce a good show to prove to other bands that they are capable of competing against schools that are sometimes much bigger than them.

The band’s director, Mr. Stalter said, “The band has made excellent progress so far. They just need to continue working this way until the end of the season.”

Mr. Stalter has been the band director at Eureka High School for over 25 years. He has led the band to win multiple awards such as best percussion, auxiliary and visual effects. His work also led the band to win the ISU State Championship 11 times.

When students walk in the band room, they are immediately surrounded by the multiple awards and trophies that Mr. Stalter has accumulated since he started teaching in 1991.

The band itself believes it’s doing very well. Drumline section leader, senior Jacob Baldwin said, “I feel that my section has improved a lot. We are no longer playing modified parts, but we are now performing on a high level with stock parts.” The drumline is known to be an important part in the band. They are the ones who drive the tempo and provide the pulse for the band. If there was no drumline, the tempo would be much harder to handle.

Other sections have stated that they are also doing well. Freshman flute Hailey Andrews said, “We have learned much more complex musical patterns. Our marching skills have dramatically improved since June. We have overall dramatically improved.”

The band has been known to be very competitive and efficient on the field. They have worked countless hours perfecting their techniques, drill and music for big competitions. The band’s next competition is at Lincoln-Way on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Their competitors are up-state bands and bands from Indiana and Ohio. Some of these bands are much larger in population compared to Eureka. This may push the students to try overcome these musical giants, but Mr. Stalter has a different approach when it comes to competing. He said,”The real challenge for the band is that they perform better than they think they can.”

Mr Stalter also has stated in the past that it’s not about winning, but it’s about doing your very best. Although the students may have their minds on winning and making a statement, Mr. Stalter believes that just doing their best is enough to make a statement. Come support the band at Lincoln-Way.